Cruise ship visit brings back memories for Wilmington woman

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) -- A German cruise ship docked in Wilmington early this morning. For the passengers on the ship it was just a cruise, but for one local woman it brought back memories more than half a century old.

Sixty-nine-year-old Heidi Apel remembers her first visit to Wilmington. She came here on the Hanseatic in 1959 and never left.

"I came over 51 years ago on the Hanseatic as a foreign student, and it was used at that time to ferry foreign students back and forth from Germany to America," Apel said.

Things have changed since Apel took the cruise, including ticket cost and the type of passengers. The ship used to only transport students and teachers. Apel's ticket 51 years ago was $180, compared to about $13,000 for a trip now.

Passengers visited the Port City for only a few hours before climbing back aboard and heading to Washington, DC.

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